Police Salary Calculator 2026

From 1 September 2026 a constable in England and Wales earns about £32,255 (pay point 1) to £52,015 (pay point 7), a sergeant £55,443 to £58,175, an inspector £66,000 to £71,396 and a chief inspector £72,806 to £75,709 outside London. These are calculated from the official 2025/26 scale plus the 3.5% award. Allowances, overtime and deductions change what you take home.

A new Police Constable in England and Wales starts at a base salary of £32,255 (pay point 1 of the 7-point scale, 2026/27). Some forces start recruits at pay point 2, £33,609. The older 8-point scale, starting at £33,969, applies only to officers appointed before 1 April 2013. In London, total gross starting pay can be higher once London Weighting and Met allowances are added. These 2026/27 figures are provisional until the Home Office publishes its 2026/27 pay determination.

Met and City of London officers get London Weighting (£3,260 a year, pensionable) and a London Allowance set by the Commissioner up to a maximum of £6,819, on our 2026/27 calculation (3.5% on the 2025/26 values of £3,150 and £6,588). At the maximum that is £10,079 a year, taking a new constable on pay point 1 from £32,255 to about £42,334 and a top-scale constable to about £62,094. Met inspectors and chief inspectors are also on higher London pay scales.

Before deductions, about £2,688 a month for a new constable (£32,255 a year), £4,335 at the top of the constable scale and £4,848 for a top-scale sergeant, from 1 September 2026. After pension contributions, income tax and National Insurance a new constable takes home roughly £1,950 a month and a top-scale constable about £2,940, before allowances, overtime or other deductions.

Police take-home pay is estimated by starting with gross annual pay, then deducting pension contributions, Income Tax and National Insurance. Location allowances and part-time hours can change both the gross figure and the deductions.

Yes. The calculator includes an estimated police pension deduction based on the selected gross pay and current modelling assumptions. The premium salary report shows the deduction detail more clearly.

No. Overtime is not fully modelled inside this salary calculator. Use the dedicated Police Overtime Calculator for casual overtime, rest day and public holiday scenarios.

Part-time police pay is calculated pro-rata based on contracted weekly hours. The full salary report unlocks reduced-hours scenario modelling so you can compare likely monthly take-home pay and pensionable earnings before changing your pattern.

Yes. Police staff, including PCSOs, can switch to staff mode and enter their own salary. Staff mode uses a 37-hour week and has a UNISON claim modelling toggle. Most police staff are in the Local Government Pension Scheme, which has its own contribution rates, so check the pension line against your payslip.

Yes, in staff mode you can toggle a 2026 UNISON claim scenario. This is shown as a modelling assumption rather than a confirmed pay award.

No. The UNISON 9% claim is a claim, not a confirmed settlement. It is useful for scenario modelling, but it should not be treated as a guaranteed outcome.

Payslips can differ because of your tax code, arrears, overtime, allowances you have not entered, other salary sacrifice schemes, voluntary deductions such as Federation group insurance, local payroll treatment and pension variations. Student loans, Federation subscriptions, on-call and unsocial hours allowances and an electric car scheme can all be added in the calculator. It gives an estimate rather than a payroll-grade figure.

Yes. Choose Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5, and add a Postgraduate Loan alongside if you have one. 2026/27 thresholds from HMRC: Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795 and Plan 5 £25,000, each at 9% of pay above the threshold, and the Postgraduate Loan at 6% over £21,000. Payroll works it out each month and runs one plan plus a Postgraduate Loan; if you have Plan 1 and Plan 2 loans you repay at the Plan 1 threshold. A top-scale constable with Plan 2 and a Postgraduate Loan repays about £324 a month.

The Police Federation of England and Wales charges £26.31 a month from 1 January 2026 (£315.72 a year). HMRC approves the Federation for tax relief. In the Metropolitan Police and West Yorkshire Police the relief is given through payroll; everywhere else the subscription comes off after tax and you claim the relief from HMRC online or by post (form P87), for the current tax year and the 4 before. That is worth about £63.14 a year to a basic rate taxpayer and £126.29 at the higher rate. The calculator shows the gross deduction and the relief you could claim.

Not a national one. The allowances in Annex U of the Police Regulations 2003 (as amended by Home Office Circular 011/2026, determination of 11 June 2026) include on-call, unsocial hours, dog handler and motor vehicle allowances, but no detective allowance. Detective constables are paid on the same scale as other constables. Some forces pay detectives a local supplement; if you get one, add it under Other allowances in the calculator.

Yes, for officers in England and Wales. The on-call allowance is £35 for each day with any time on call (constable to chief superintendent). The unsocial hours allowance is 10% of your hourly rate for each full hour worked between 8pm and 6am (constable to chief inspector), where the hourly rate is annual pay times 6/12520. Both come from Annex U, are taxable and count for NI and student loans, but are not pensionable.

Police Scotland: yes. Choose Scotland and it uses the Police Scotland pay scales from 1 April 2026, Scottish income tax for 2026/27 and the flat 13.7% Scottish pension rate. For overtime and the Islands Allowance use the Police Scotland salary calculator. PSNI: there was no 2026/27 PSNI pay award at 14 October 2026, so we do not hold a 2026/27 PSNI scale. Choose Northern Ireland and enter your basic salary: income tax and NI are the same as England and Wales, but the pension line uses the England and Wales bands as a stand-in.

Yes. Copy link to this result puts your choices (rank, pay point, force, student loan plan, subscription and allowances) into the page address, so the same figures open for anyone with the link. It holds no name, email or anything else about you.

Yes, if you want a fuller financial picture. Salary shows current cash flow, but the police pension calculator helps model retirement age, CARE accrual, commutation and long-term pension value.